Monitoring Drought - August

More than a third of the region is either abnormally dry or experiencing drought conditions.

Ninety days of below normal rainfall and above normal temperatures have led to moderate and even severe drought conditions that are impacting agriculture in parts of the Northeast. Reports from around the region indicated that, while the dry spell has negatively affected topsoil moisture, pastures, and field crops such as corn, soybeans and alfalfa, irrigated vegetables have been flourishing. Also doing well are fruits crops such as peaches, apples, grapes and pears. The heat and lack of rain has reduced the disease risk for these crops while enhancing sugar development.